


Kidnapping and a Movie

by Sophie



Category: Iron Man: Armoured Adventures, Marvel
Genre: Dating, First Date, M/M, Teenagers, Villains Attacked Us And Ruined The Date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-19
Updated: 2010-12-19
Packaged: 2017-10-13 19:38:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/140998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sophie/pseuds/Sophie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gene and Tony have a date. They just don't know it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kidnapping and a Movie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Andraste](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andraste/gifts).



> Set somewhere after episode 13 (Hide and Seek) and before episode 18 (Pepper Interrupted).
> 
> Thanks to [Tali](http://archiveofourown.org/users/inabathrobe) for the beta.

Gene hasn't slept enough recently. He's reached the point when he's considering skipping school for a few days to catch up on sleep and to deal with everything going on. He feels ready to be the Mandarin; it's his destiny, and it's what he has to be —what he _is_. But his stepfather was the Mandarin fulltime, and he can't be. He hasn't stopped going to school, and he doesn't want to. Besides, finding the rings is his first priority, he wants Tony to help him find them, and he sees Tony at school.

He also— And he won't be admitting this to anyone ever— But he also likes keeping Tony close; Tony's his only friend, and he makes Gene feel less alone. He can't surround himself with friendly acquaintances for his own security and privacy, but one as useful as Tony, he can keep around. Tony is special in his own way. Like how he managed to get kidnapped and endear himself to Gene within a day of meeting him like the stupid, naive, hyperactive kitten that you can't help getting attached to even though you know you can't keep it because your mom is allergic.

Tony requires minimal attention and devotion, too: he basically doesn't care if you ignore him for days on end, and when you finally show him attention, he's still just glad that you do.

It reminds Gene of that bad joke: _How do you know if your wife or your dog loves you more? Lock them both in the trunk of a car for an hour and find out which is happy to see you when you open the trunk._

Gene isn't quite sure a hyperactive kitten would be happy to see you when you open the trunk of that car, but something tells him Tony would be. In a metaphorical way. He has all the best attributes of a kitten and a puppy.

Gene should really stop comparing his only friend to different pets in his head.

But it all applies to Tony perfectly: Gene can spend a week being a complete asshole to him, and Tony comes back and is happy when Gene is friendly to him again. Minimal attention and devotion required. Of course, this means Gene feels a bit bad about himself when Tony is always so nice to him, so he does try to be nice. Most of the time.

It's really hard to make himself be nicer when he knows Tony won't stop talking to him if he doesn't make an effort. He's also tired enough that it takes a huge effort not to just ignore Tony, who usually sits with Rhodes and Potts, when he sits next to Gene in class instead.

It takes a full five seconds for Gene to answer after Tony says hi. The delay makes Tony obviously uncomfortable. He shifts a bit and— his behaviour reminds Gene of the embarrassment and discomfort Tony was radiating when he told Gene that he'd lost the last Makluan ring they'd found.

"Did you lose something again?" Now Tony looks confused. It's somehow endearing. "Never mind," Gene adds, smirking at Tony's expression.

This makes Tony hesitate even more. Not enough that he changes his mind about talking to Gene, though.

"You know," Tony says, finally, "we always talk about the same things."

"Uhm. How you lose things?"

"Yes. I mean— No. I." He frowns. "We talk about the rings and things that have to do with them."

Well done, Captain Obvious, Gene doesn't say. "Do you want us to talk about the weather more often?"

The corner of Tony's mouth quirks up at that. "Very funny. I just think we— You know, we have more in common than the Makluan rings. We got kidnapped together. I think that is supposed to create some sort of brotherly men-at-arms bond."

The teacher walks in at that moment, and Gene takes it as an opportunity to take his physics textbook out. Teachers have never stopped Tony and his friends from talking in the middle of a class, and this one isn't not going to stop him now.

"So... what do you say?" He's barely even whispering. In fact, it's a stage whisper, and there's no way the entire class isn't hearing every word coming out of his mouth.

Gene is torn between a few options and eventually rips a page out of his notebook, scribbling on it. He can't believe he's _passing notes in class_ because of Tony. God, he's an idiot.

**About what?**

**About talking more. Spending time together without having to go after a ring.**

**What for?**

**For fun. Because that's what friends do.**

**This is ridiculous.**

**Come on. We had fun together getting the last ring. We can have a repeat performance somewhere closer to New York than Greenland and without huge statues going after us.**

**You better destroy this piece of paper when you're done, Stark.**

**Hey! You didn't even answer.**

**I'll think about it.**

**You need to think about hanging out with a friend?**

Gene doesn't trust Tony to get rid of their conversation, so he keeps the piece of paper and doesn't answer. That's an answer enough in itself.

*

He's not blind. He can see that he's slowly losing the control of the Tong. He doesn't have their absolute obedience anymore. It's a problem, but he doesn't care about it as much as he should. It all comes back to the same thing, after all: once he'll have the five rings, nothing else will matter. Why spend his time worrying about the Tong? It's not a strategic course of action any way he looks at it. The group won't help him find the rings, and even if it might be able to help somehow, he doesn't trust any of them enough to tell them where the next ring might be.

Not that he has any idea where the next one is, so he can't do that anyway. Damn it. Tony's computer better find something out soon because Gene isn't finding anything on his own.

He isn't startled when Tony drops his backpack on Gene's desk, but it's a close thing.

"Has your computer found anything yet?" Gene asks without looking up.

Tony was smiling before that question. Now he's mostly frowning. "Is that payback?"

"Payback?"

"Or I guess it's an answer."

"Tony, you're not making any sense." He should have used 'Stark'. This was a 'Stark' occasion. He's using Tony's last name less and less. He's not sure how he feels about that.

"For hanging out."

"Your sentences need to start being longer. And I take it your computer is still stuck on a location?"

Tony sighs. "No. I mean— Yeah. It's still stuck."

Then, there's a pause during which neither of them does anything at all. Tony's bag is still on Gene's desk. "Do you... want that seat?"

"Uh? Oh! No."

"Anything you're not saying?"

"The last Batman movie came out this weekend."

Okay. So Tony's still not making any sense, but in his head —that thing Gene has no idea how it works—, the sentences must be related. Gene takes a moment to go over the whole conversation. "You want us to hang out at a movie theatre?"

Tony is entirely too surprised at Gene's deductive abilities. He shouldn't be surprised at all.

"Yes! If you're interested. I wanted to go see it and I've been thinking... We can't hang out at your place because of your stepfather, and I live with Rhodey, so it would have to be out. You're not a mall person, and the movie theatre means you don't have to talk at all."

Gene is completely entitled to be surprised that _Tony_ had this sort of reflection about how to entertain a normal social relationship. It's not the sort of thing his brain is any good at. Batman doesn't interest Gene at all, but— why not? It will probably piss Rhodes off. This sounds like the sort of movie he and Tony usually see together.

"Okay."

"Okay? Seriously?"

"Yes." He grabs Tony's bag to put it on the floor and takes out a sheet of loose leaf paper and a pen. "Here are my availabilities," he explains, scribbling on the paper quickly. "You can work with them."

He ends up being the one picking up Tony after they work out when they're meeting. Tony theoretically doesn't have a chauffeur or a limo; they all belonged to the company, and the company isn't his. He is, of course, rich enough to rent a dozen limos if he wants to, but it's just easier for Gene to use his.

They're not very early and don't have especially good seats. If he were alone, Gene would simply pay the people with good seats to leave. Tony isn't like that, though, and before Gene can voice his idea, Tony is sitting down somewhere on the side of the theatre and signals for Gene to come over. Gene does. He's watching a movie he probably won't enjoy, so it won't change anything if his viewing parameters aren't optimal.

The movie is supposed to start in fifteen minutes. This means Tony feels forced to find something they can talk about. "I heard it was better than the last one." It's apparently hard to find something remotely interesting to talk about that doesn't have anything to do with the rings.

"I haven't seen the last one."

"Really? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why would I have?"

"This is a sequel. You're not gonna get what's going on."

Gene gives Tony one of his most deadpan looks. "Tony. Is this a Batman movie?"

"Yes?"

"Something tells me Bruce Wayne is Batman because his parents were shot in the previous movie. There will be a sexy female character who will serve as his love interest. Oh, and let's not forget that Batman will be battling against villains and will somehow save the day. However, since he's so grim, he will still not be happy about it at the end. Does that sound right?"

Tony rolls his eyes. "It's going to be better than that."

"I'm sure."

Tony looks straight at him. "It's not working, you know."

"What?"

"Your 'I'm such a victim' act. You're here because you want to be. If you complain too much about the movie, it only means you're here because I asked." He grins. "And I want popcorn. Want any?"

He doesn't wait for an answer and stands up, making his way out of the theatre. He comes back with popcorn for both him and Gene only a minute before the lights turn off.

"This is Batman," Tony tells Gene with that bad stage whisper of his when Bruce Wayne appears on the screen for the first time.

"Tony?" Gene _can_ whisper, at least. "Shut up." Tony grins and sips on whatever drink he bought himself. It convinces him to stop stating annoying obvious facts about the movie because he does shut up after that.

Tony finishes his popcorn first and immediately starts stealing Gene's. Theoretically, it's Tony's popcorn: he's the one who paid for it. The movement is more of a bother than the fact Tony's well on his way to emptying the paper bag within five minutes. Gene sighs loudly when Tony drops popcorn on him and hands him the bag with an unimpressed look. Tony doesn't look sorry and certainly doesn't ask twice before taking the bag.

It's very hard to concentrate on the movie. It's not the sort of movie Gene enjoys —Gene doesn't really enjoy movies at all; he prefers reading over watching a screen any day of the week— and Gene stops trying to follow it after a while. He leans back against his seat more comfortably, rests his arms on the arm holders and begins thinking about the missing rings. Tony would probably be disappointed in him if he knew, and that's why Gene won't tell him that he spent part of their 'hanging out' moment trying to figure out where the next Makluan ring might be. Even if it's frustrating because it doesn't lead anywhere, it's more stimulating than the Joker playing mind games with Batman.

He barely notices Tony resting his arm on the arm holder between them until he's pushing Gene's arm out of the way. There _isn't_ enough space for two arms on these things. Gene glances at Tony and pushes back. He can see Tony grin in the dark, although Tony doesn't stop staring at the screen, and then it's on, and they're silently fighting for the place on the arm holder that neither of them wants all that badly.

Tony's the first one to change his technique. He gets a hold on Gene's hand, squeezes it in his own and pushes Gene's arm down under his. Gene's quick to react, intertwining his fingers with Tony's, so he has a hold on his hand too. He knows he's at an advantage because he's using his right hand and Tony's using his left, and thoughts of unfairness don't stop him from flipping their arms until he's holding Tony's hand under his.

A minute or so after Tony has stopped struggling to take control again, Gene loosens his hold. Later, it occurs to him that they've been holding hands for ten minutes. If Tony hasn't moved his hand, though, he doesn't see why _he_ should.

Time passes by faster after that. The movie seems more interesting, even if it really isn't. He only starts thinking actively about it once the credits are rolling, the lights are half on, and Tony takes his hand away, standing up and making his way out slowly. He doesn't say anything to Gene and doesn't exactly look at him. He's embarrassed, and Tony has never been able to hide that from anyone.

Gene can't tell if this is supposed to be a date. The thought never occurred to him, and frankly, he wouldn't mind if it were. It's entertaining to think that maybe this was _planned_ by Tony, even if it's highly unlikely considering how little Tony plans for anything. If it was planned, it was done rather poorly to say the least.

He rolls his eyes to himself before standing up and picking up the popcorn bags from the floor to put them in the trash on his way out. Tony's waiting for him a few steps outside the theatre.

"Was it as bad as you thought it'd be?"

Gene smiles mischievously on purpose. "No."

Tony's eyes shift, and Gene knows that Tony knows he wasn't thinking about the movie when he answered.

"Good."

"So." Gene gestures to Tony and starts walking toward the exit. "Was this a date?"

Tony shouldn't be surprised by this question, and Gene shouldn't be surprised that Tony is surprised anyway.

"I don't know?"

"Really."

"It wasn't... planned or anything. I don't think it's a date if it's not planned."

Not a bad answer. "Should the next time we hang out be a date, then?"

Tony smiles. "If you want it to be."

Gene realises that he does want to date Tony. He's not in love or anything so novel. He's not even sure if he has a crush, but the idea of dating Tony is a pleasant one. Maybe, that means he does have a crush. It sounds young and immature, and he hates thinking of it that way already.

"Sure." Either way, Tony won't ask for more devotion or attention, which is perfect, and really probably the only reason he accepts.

"That sounded very convincing."

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't aware there was a proper way to agree to going on a date with someone."

"I hear there is. I just— You're sure you want to? You don't mind about me, you know, being a guy."

The statement is so annoying that Gene nearly doesn't answer. "Tony. What do you take me for?"

Tony only looks confused.

"I wouldn't have said yes if I were straight."

"I guess." A pause. "So you're not straight?"

Gene looks at him and doesn't say anything. A question that stupid doesn't deserve an answer.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Tony presses on.

"No." And it's true. Gene doesn't think about his sex life enough for things like that to bother him. He has more important things to think about than who he wants to date or sleep with and what they have below the belt. He doesn't need anyone's approval, either, and doesn't have any parents to worry about what the neighbours might think. It's not something that defines him; it's nothing important.

His mom wouldn't love him less.

They step outside and Tony looks down. "Oh."

"I'll take it it bothers _you_."

"I don't mind that you're not straig— Oh, you meant about myself."

Gene _looks_ at Tony, and it says everything he needs to say. It would be amazing if it were enough to make Tony understand about Facts Of Life.

"How come?" Tony asks, and he really does sound curious.

Tony is a teenager, sometimes. Just like Gene, really. Only, Gene does his best to cover it up while Tony embraces it.

"There are more important things going on." Gene shrugs and then realises something about Tony and their current exchange. He certainly feels like he should be the one asking Tony if he's sure and not the opposite. "I won't be the one making it okay for you. You'll have to figure yourself out."

"I think you'd help even if—"

Tires screech, two cars surround them, and doors open on masked men. Gene grabs onto Tony's hand and starts running, pulling him with him. He doesn't need to know what exactly the Maggia wants with him to know it's bad news.

They turn in an alley where Gene's hoping they'll have enough time alone that he can contact his bodyguard, who is also his chauffeur at the moment. If everything works out, he'll create a diversion and get Tony to leave in his limo, so he can deal with the problem himself. Tony's presence is a bother, but he's not leaving him behind.

Actually... maybe leaving him behind would have worked, but it's too late for that now.

"I activated my GPS localizer." He's very glad that Tony gave him the idea the first time they were kidnapped together. Not that there's going to be a second time.

Tony nods, and they share a look. "You need to get away," Gene says just as Tony lets out, "Maybe I could slow them down."

"You're not staying to slow them down! How stupid are you?"

"You just said you wanted us to split!"

"So you get away because they're coming after me. Not so you can sacrifice yourself to save me. You can be such an annoying good guy sometimes."

Tony doesn't look at all happy with the comment. He doesn't have time to voice it, though, because Killer Shrike is literally falling on top of them. It really sucks when villains can fly.

If Tony gets hurt because he's a stubborn idiot, Gene refuses to feel guilty about it. It will be his fault entirely.

They dodge in different directions when Killer Shrike attacks them, and that's good, at least. It means they might be able to split after the criminal goes after Gene. He just needs to make sure that this is what he does.

"Haven't you learned from last time that you can't use me to blackmail my stepfather?" he yells out, trying to get Killer Shrike's attention. It's not anything original or very well-thought, but when you're dressed the way Killer Shrike is dressed and fly around _calling yourself "Killer Shrike"_ , you can't really be all that bright. Stupid people are easier to taunt.

"We did, kid. We're not here for you."

"What?"

Gene has always thought that when you have the technology to make gauntlets that can allow you to fly and shoot power blasts, you should really make the whole suit look better. It's not quite as bad as Unicorn's, though.

He should have tortured him and Unicorn a bit longer before letting them free. Killer Shrike maybe wouldn't be shooting power blasts at Tony if he had.

Tony dodges and is forced to move away from Gene. The insane idea to run away, put on the rings, and stop all of this as the Mandarin crosses his mind. He doesn't know what's going on, but it's obvious that the Maggia isn't here for him this time. Killer Shrike is busy flying after Tony, and none of them would realise if Gene left. But how would the Mandarin explain intervening in a situation like this one? He's already on the verge of creating an open war with the Maggia, and it would be so bothersome if a war started. He'd be expected and required to be there a lot more, and he's not sure he can risk that.

He also can't risk Tony's life; he's the one who always gets closer to the rings first after all.

And they're supposed to have an actual date during which Tony will not pretend it's not one and Gene would try acting a bit more like a teenager. He hears first dates do need to be teenager-y and awkward to a certain point. He can't—

His arguments are very bad, and he's wasting time. Then Killer Shrike tackles Tony and they both vanish around the corner of a building. He wraps his hand around the rings under his shirt. He starts thinking again before he can remove the rings from around his neck, hesitating. It's so not the time to hesitate— but when did he reach the point where he was ready to sacrifice things as the Mandarin for other human beings?

This is his mom he's talking about. But his mom... probably wouldn't want him to risk Tony's life, so he could bring her back. And he's not _really_ choosing between the both of them; he'll get the rings whether he screws things up right now or not.

And then Iron Man flies up behind him and grabs onto him and takes him flying before Gene can react. "Hey!" Did Iron Man see the rings and that's why—? No, they weren't out yet. He can't know.

Gene looks down and can't catch a glimpse of either Tony or Killer Shrike. Granted, it's very hard to concentrate on observing things below you as you're flying with a suit of armour that can't hold onto you in any way that would ever be comfortable for anyone.

He doesn't want to start acting like a complete imbecile and start punching metal at hundreds of feet in the air encouraging his own suicide, but thinking about it makes him feel a bit better.

"What are you _doing_?" He has to yell to hear his own voice over the wind passing by his ears.

"Getting you out of the Maggia's reach." The voice is metallic without sounding like a robot. It does sound awkward, though; the tone isn't natural.

"I'm not the one they're after, you idiot." No answer. "Are you _listening_? Put me down and go look for Tony Stark. Be useful for once."

"I— uh—" Hesitating gives the made-up serious tone another level of unnatural. "I took care of Mr. Stark already."

"What— _How_ would you have done that? Moving at the speed of light? Are you kidding me?" He can't fight or he'll fall to his death, which is a fact he immediately starts repeating over and over in his head. 

"Are you working with the Maggia now?" This doesn't make much sense, but what Iron Man is doing doesn't make much sense either.

"Mr. Stark is safe. Don't worry about him."

He's not worried! "I'm not—" Yeah, he is. He sighs and starts wriggling around in Iron Man's grip.

"Stop moving."

"I'm trying to find my _cell phone_."

"Get it when you're on the ground." Gene glares. "And put your arms around my shoulders. It will help you hold on."

He feels like he's Iron Man's prom date now. This is the worst evening ever. And it's really _not_ like he owes Iron Man anything. He didn't just save Gene from the Maggia at all and had failed at taking care of Tony the first time around, too.

He doesn't thank Iron Man when he drops him off in front of his stepfather's house.

The first thing he does is call Tony's cell phone before even pulling out the door key.

"Yeah?"

"Tony!" He's okay with himself for being so relieved that Tony answers; the problem is that it shows in his voice way too much. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. Iron Man showed up and—"

"Where are you?" There's a pause. "Tony. Where are you?" he asks again, a lot more seriously and with an edge of a threat creeping into the question.

"I need to figure out what the Maggia wanted with me, or they'll just come back."

"No, you don't! What the hell is wrong with you? Tell me where you are and don't hang—" Tony hangs up. He doesn't answer his phone when Gene tries calling again.

"I hate you so much," he tells Tony at school the next morning. "You have no idea how furious I am right now."

"But I'm fine."

"This is not about you, Tony!"

Tony looks like he doesn't understand. That's almost certainly because he _doesn't_. Gene put his head in his hands and sighs. More than once. He then takes a deep breath and tries to explain. "You need to ask for my help when you need it. You can't unilaterally decide my involvement in— whatever."

"It was..." Tony sits down at the desk next to Gene's. "It was dangerous?"

Gene glares at him. "Iron Man came back and—" Tony becomes uncomfortable about Gene's expression and looks away himself. "I didn't want to put you in danger," he repeats lamely.

"Fine! So next time the Maggia tries to get to _me_ , I won't tell you where I am and what's going on. That way, I'm not going to be putting you in danger. How does that work for you?"

Gene's angry, and it's a good thing that Tony doesn't get angry too often because the clashes would be bad.

"I'm sorry."

Gene looks at Tony and Tony's looking at him again. He really does appear to mean it.

Tony looks around him at the rest of the class before shifting his chair a little, so he can hide what he's doing when he reaches for Gene's hand. "I can't promise I won't do it again, though."

"That was the worst apology."

Tony smiles and is— Damn, he's giving Gene puppy eyes now.

"Okay. Okay, whatever. Is the Maggia going to come back for you in the middle of the day and crash into the classroom?"

"No. I can— We could go out tonight and I could tell you about what happened?"

Gene smirks and scolds himself mentally for letting Tony get to him that fast when he's supposed to be mad at him. "As a date?"

"Yeah." The English teacher walks into the room and Tony moves his hand away. "If you don't hate me too much for this."

Gene ignores that comment. "So you're not all bothered about the guy thing anymore?"

Tony's smile spreads into his eyes. "It's like you said. There _are_ more important things going on."


End file.
